What Women Want @ Work

©2013 LinkedIn Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

What Women Want @ Work

Global Study byResearch conducted by Cross-Tab

Executive Summary

©2013 LinkedIn Corporation. All Rights Reserved. 2

Executive Summary

LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, undertook a global research study to explore the key challenges and opportunities facing professional women around the globe in support of International Women’s Day on March 8, 2013.

Some interesting global trends emerged:– Women’s definition of professional success has changed in the last 5-10 years – Work-life balance is now more highly valued than salary and position– Women are concerned about a lack of investment in their ‘professional

development’ and ‘lack of a clear career path’

There remains a great deal of confidence and optimism amongst women worldwide about their careers and future opportunities – with the vast majority believing they can ‘have it all’.


Career Success Thus Far

77% of women worldwide consider their careers to be a success


Career Success Thus Far

Significantly more women from India (69%) consider their career to be entirely successful while only 7% of women in Italy consider their career to be entirely successful


Success At Work – Now vs 5-10 Years Ago

63% say that success now is finding the right balance between work & personal life

only 39% saw this as success 5 or 10 years ago39%

Work & Life Balance



56% said earning a high salary meant success 5 or 10 years ago

only 45% see it as success now

45%

High Salary


78% in Sweden equate success now with having an interesting job

58% in Singapore associate success now with earning a higher salary



Appearance and Its Impact

49% say they are aware that their physical appearance makes an impression

but it has not had a major impact on their career


Appearance and Its Impact

Significantly more women from Germany (26%), US (21%), Canada (18%) and Singapore (20%) believe that physical appearance makes an impression and they maintain it has had a major impact on their respective careers

46% of women from Sweden consider appearance to be irrelevant to career


Career Challenges

51%lack of clear career path

47%lack of investment in professional development

44%inequality in pay

44%juggling family life

33%lack of mentor or role model


Career Challenges Significantly more women in Germany

(45%) and Spain (39%) consider the existence of a glass ceiling to be a major career challenge

Considerable number of women from India (35%) have been a victim of sexism in the workplace

62% women in Brazil consider lack of investment in professional development to be a major challenge

Women in Sweden (67%), Brazil (65%) and Netherlands (61%) suffer most from lack of a clear career path


Women who they love their children and their career equally

Women who love their chil-dren but they could never be a stay-at-home mom

Women who love their job but if they had their choice, they would be a stay-at-home mom

State of Mind for Mums

53%

25%

22%



Significantly more women from India (43%) maintain that even though they love their children, they never could be a stay at home mom



Significantly more women from Canada (33%) say that, even though they love their job, they would prefer to be a stay at home mom



65% of working mothers said that to achieve a healthy work-life balance they would like greater flexibility within the workplace


For the Next Generation of Women

80%believe that a flexible work environment is the most important factor in determining the success of the next generation of professional women

70%saw a greater representation of women at senior levels as being vital for the next generation


For the Next Generation of Women

In Brazil, 90% of women see a flexible work environment as the most important factor, while 79% of women in the US view a greater representation of women at senior levels as success for the next generation


Having It All

74%believe you can have it all: fulfilling career, relationship and children

(67% of those are over the age of 35)

43%women say that they are career-focused, but plan to slow down their career when they have children


43% respondents from Italy consider it to be an impossible pursuit

Significantly more respondents from India (93%) believe it’s possible to have it all

Having It All


Having It All

Respondents in Singapore (63%) and India (60%) plan to slow down their career as soon as they have children while respondents from US (69%), Sweden (68%), Brazil (68%) have no intention of slowing down their career after having children

No intention of slowing down their career after having children

Slow down their career as soon as they have kids


How Working Women Can Leverage LinkedIn

1. Get career inspiration Check out the LinkedIn profiles of professional women you admire to see

the steps they took in their career to be successful.

2. Reach out to women mentors Join LinkedIn Groups for professional women in your industry or region.

3. Ask, and you shall receive Connect with other women on LinkedIn via your own network and utilise

LinkedIn Groups to get advice on issues you’re facing from flexibility to professional development.


Research Methodology

In January 2013, LinkedIn partnered with Cross-Tab to survey more than 5,300 working women across 13 countries in celebration and support of International Women’s Day on March 8th.

Over 400 respondents between the ages of 18-65 were surveyed in each market to better understand the challenges that women face in their careers, how women have viewed success in the past and what success means now, if professional women worldwide believe they can balance work and family and how online networks can help them with their careers.